Justin McMahon CD release party Thursday

Feb. 15, 2012

Justin McMahon / Publicity

Written by

Michael Sion

Special to Best Bets

The task of the tortured artist is to filter the mad flow of his feelings into a format accessible to his audience. For Reno singer-guitarist Justin McMahon — an extraordinarily lyrical songwriter who, not surprisingly, has dabbled in short-story writing — that has meant packing the stanzas of his songs with as much magnified imagery and commentary as he can squeeze between the bars of each measure.

“There’re lots of words, not a lot of space,” McMahon says of the 10 songs on his sophomore effort, “Second Chances and Irreparable Mistakes.” “There’s probably more in one verse than a whole song by someone else.”

The 30-year-old’s introspective sketches of dreams and romance lost but not forgotten in the turbulent twenties he’s just left — a landscape pocked by trysts and travels, empty bottles and an emblematic blue bathrobe — work as confessional poems. A gifted acoustic guitarist who sings in a lyric tenor almost pretty despite a world-weary, cigarette rasp, McMahon will perform his new album Feb. 16 at the Pioneer Underground. Four musicians who supported him in the studio will join him on stage to reproduce the CD’s nuanced arrangements layered with overdubs.

“A couple songs have as many as five mandolin tracks,” McMahon said of the tracking at True Story Records, in Sparks. The production is bright and often upbeat despite the soul-baring narratives and no percussion.

While the storms of his youth are still roiling just beneath the surface, McMahon’s approach tends toward acceptance rather than self-pity. Yet the density of his lyrics must be chewed carefully to properly digest. Melodically, McMahon delivers just enough hooks to lure multiple listens. Only two tracks contain repeated choruses.

(Page 2 of 2)

One is the standout, “Spring Cleaning,” which features this characteristic slideshow: “An old photograph, a boarding pass/A T-shirt bought in Rome/A bus transfer from Market Street/And that letter that you wrote/These things are only symbols/Of a Greater thing by far/They’ve been taking up my closet space/And a big peace of my heart.”

McMahon quit performing shortly after releasing his first effort, 2007’s self-produced “Worth the Wait.” The disillusionment of “being under the radar of mass music” as well as performing in restaurants or bars where patrons don’t pay attention to the artist at the microphone got to him. But eventually new songs bubbled up. With his close friend Ackerson’s encouragement, McMahon returned to troubadour mode. He intends to tour after finishing spring semester at UNR.

He’s discovered that creating music is a vital artistic impulse. “Like Stephen King said, ‘You do it, because to not do it is suicide.’”

His CD release show is at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Pioneer Underground. Tickets cost $15 advance, $20 door. Read the full interview with Justin at www.rgj.com/justinmcmahon